Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Climbing trees and ropes would develop stamina, endurance, and equilibrium of one’s body. It is a way to lay a foundation for the students to learn the grappling, clinching, swinging, climbing, scaling, mounting, which are other spectrums Muay Chaiya.

The defensive aspect of Pahuyuth training is the Pong-Pad-Pid-Perd (to block, to swipe to cover, to open). Teachers would hang lemons at about neck high. The students would have to hit the lemons with their fists, elbows and defend themselves with the defensive techniques. The students would have to be able to strike, block, attack, defend, and move in the master gesture with great agility. This training technique is considered to be most ingenious method by teachers of the old that has passed on to younger generations of Muay Chaiya practitioners.

In Chaiya style of fighting, elbows are short weapons designed to be used at close range. They are the dexterous weapons of Muay Chaiya. The elbows would be moving back and forth, up and down close to the face, making the face well covered and at the same time, allow the fighter to be able to launch his own attack with great power and speed. It is difficult to attack a skillful Muay Chaiya fighter, because the fighting stances and movements of Muay Chaiya always prescript elbows to be close and move to cover his entire body. They are like a durian fruit (a tropical fruit with hard and spiky skin). One can sustain injury unto oneself by hitting the spiky durian fruit.